


Subversion Rebellion

by Happydog



Series: Chronicles of Svaila [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, Gen, Monsters, Original Character(s), Shapeshifting, Transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:21:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 13,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23085427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happydog/pseuds/Happydog
Summary: Since childhood Chirp has been told that he is the hero which the prophecy foretold. Now at the cusp of adulthood, he must create a party to defeat the Empress and bring an end to the Thousands Year reign.
Series: Chronicles of Svaila [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1659178
Comments: 9
Kudos: 2





	1. The Divine Awakening a.k.a. Recruitment Gone Right

"Centuries ago, our rebellion failed and the Usurper Empress survived the Desperate Charge by discarding her humanity. Abusing her self-given power, she forced all of Svaila under her endless tyranny. My ancestor, Hungrig Marlboros, had led the valiant charge against her. Their failure had ended with their execution and the Razing of Eskel. Luckily, my maternal ancestor, Treena Barklina, had fled before the destruction.

In time, the survivors had rebuilt Eskel; creating the New Subjugated Territory of Eskelia where I’ve lived my whole life. However, though our ancestors may have failed, the Eskelian Liberation Front carries out their legacy. My name is Chirp Ouroboros, chosen descendant of the progenitor rebels, and I implore you to join our cause! Together we can”-

“Shut up, you hallmark for the for the deficits of uncertified home schooling!” jeered one of the audience members.

“Yeah, what Muvelt Dan said. Get outta here with your historical misinformation and what not” assented another. Chirp sucked his teeth, his parents had directed him to try and recruit more resistance members at a local state college, but it seemed they had already been brainwashed by the government. He thought quickly to try and figure out what to say to enlighten their closed minds.

“No, we wait listen! If we unify we can work to-“

“No, you listen. You think you can just come here and say anything and we’ll just believe you- “

“What makes my words less valuable than your professors’ words?” he said with confidence in the education his parents had provided for him. The apparent speaker for the group of students, Muvelt Dan, made a disgusted face but having no rebuttal he merely proclaimed his incredulity at Chirp’s stubbornness.

“You really think that you’re some sort of legendary reincarnation of the Hero Warble honestly, you’re just an egotistical fool who’s not worth talking too. Lets’ go guys”

Chirp hung his head as his audience started walking away. All he wanted in life was to fulfill his purpose, but the only people that gave him any sort of recognition were his fellow resistance members. He had been venerated by them his whole life as the hero whom the prophecy had foretold would bring about the revolution ending the thousands years reign, so it had been a rude awakening to be dismissed so callously by his prospective revolutionaries. As he stood there lost in shameful thoughts, a voice interrupted his quiet musing.

“Um, excuse me… I was wondering if you could give me more information about the erm Liberation Front” asked a wary looking girl. Chirp immediately perked up at the thought of finally recruiting a member for the cause; instantly forgetting any doubts that he had just had.

“YES, I mean yes of course I can give you more information. You see the ills of this world are caused by the Usurper Empress. She’s a monster who wants nothing more to destroy all of Svaila. The Liberation Front seeks to depose her before she can cause any more harm to Eskel and by extension Svaila.” He spoke as earnestly as he could, desperate to convey the truth within his words. After a pause, she whispered back to him, “I knew she was a monster, but I didn’t know it was that bad. I study history so I intern at the museum and I saw ghastly tapestry of what the empress really is… come with me and I can show you. This has been consuming me lately, I’m so glad that I’m not alone.”

Grabbing his hand, she began leading him towards the Svaila Cultural History Museum. Excited to have finally met his first willing follower Chirp did not protest. As they got closer to the museum, he realized that in his excitement he had neglected to ask her what her name or history was, so he asked her as they walked.

She revealed to him that her name was Sandhra Flortist, but lost in her joy at finally having a confidant she did not say much else. Arriving at the museum she quickly snuck him into a sealed off storage area. Any reservations Chirp may have felt were defeated by the thought that his cause was just and so he hid his qualms deep within himself; just like he always had. In the storage room she quickly led him to a rather large tapestry.


	2. The Tapestry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A description of the tapestry and a shorter description of the Empress' form as a monster.  
> Skip-able but not recommended.

The Tapestry: It seems to be a sort of timeline for a series of long forgotten historical events. It shows her highness in her youth stabbing the last emperor. Next, she’s pictured at her coronation. Every empire territory is represented by an emblem and some citizens faces as representation of their feelings. The territories are encircled around her representing how she would be the center of the empire as its ruler. Every territory’s people seem to be rejoicing except for the Eskelians; whose emblem is the defunct one that the Resistance still uses. In a jarring contrast to the rest, their faces appear angry. Then, the tapestry shows what appears to be a council of hooded figures meeting under the old Eskelian emblem. Immediately after, depicts the castle being destroyed a giant ball of flames. The hooded figures watch the events from a distance. Then a hideous monster is depicted bursting from the flames. It then depicts the hooded figures cowering as the monster rampages around them. After depicting the annihilation of the hooded figures, the tapestry depicts the monster sitting on the remnants of a throne. Using the sun crossed with the moon as a symbol for time the tapestry finally depicts a rehumanized Empress sitting alone on her throne. 

The monster: The monster is green in color. It has a wolfs head but with an extra eye and three horns. It’s front legs end with clawed appendages but the back legs end with raptor's feet. It has wings and a rat like tail.


	3. Amendments to the Prophecy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Journeying forth

Observing the tapestry Chirp realizes that if he doesn’t fulfill his prophecy then the empress could at any moment transform and destroy all of Svaila. Feeling his resolve growing strong within him he looks to Sandhra and asks her to join the fight against the corrupt empress. Nodding vigorously, she immediately agreed, idly he wondered to himself if she, like him, was also looking to fulfill a preordained purpose.

Feeling unified in spirit, taking her hand this time, he decided to take her to the resistance headquarters. Where she could be formerly reeducated to the truths of the world. He attempted to be discreet as he walked, and gestured to Sandhra to do the same. His parents had taught him that the empress had eyes everywhere, so paranoid was his default setting in public. Walking among the crowd the weight of his divine duty felt heavier than ever.

He tried to ignore his feelings of insecurity though. His parents had taught him that a hero must always stay one hundred percent committed to the course. His thoughts were interrupted by an Imperial Police Officer flagging him over to talk. While his heart raced a bit, on the outside he remained calm and listened to what the officer had to say. 

“Can’t go that way I’m afraid. They’re setting up for the Heritage Festival tomorrow and the Empress herself is coming so the decorations are even grander than usual. Which means that for both your safety and public security the Capital Square is only accessible to designated personnel.” Chirp nodded in understanding and began leading Sandhra through another route.

Despite having lived in the Capital for his whole life he had never actually been in attendance of the Festival. The Liberation Front weren’t daring enough to be seen directly by the Empress herself. That did not mean they did not have a platform against them though. His parents had told him from a young age that such patriotic events only served to brainwash the populace into satisfaction. He was glad his new friend Sandhra had been able to overcome her brainwashing. It even seemed that she had found a purpose within his purpose. Maybe there was another piece of the prophecy that would fit her in too.


	4. The Revolutionaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the revolution members. There names and everything. Just here because they might not be directly named in the story.
> 
> Also helpful if I mention one later and its like, Who tf is that?

The Revolutionaries: Including himself there were ten of them total. The first was his family the Ouroboros. His parents, Squawk and Muruna Juniper were the head of the revolutionaries. His paternal grandparents, Sylvester and Screech were part of the four elders.   
Which leads to the next family the Azurankos. That included Ralphiel the other child of prophecy who specialized in magic and his father, Gorm Ralph. Ralphiel’s paternal grandparents Ceruleo and Murryiel served as the other elders. The last member was Gorm Ralph’s cousin Jester. Who really just needed a place to stay, but Chirp liked to count him anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I'll make a glossary or something at the end of this.


	5. Welcome to the Prophecy Club

Upon their arrival at headquarters his parents regarded Sandhra with suspicion. However, before Chirp could speak to defend her presence; Sandhra spoke for herself.

“My name is Sandhra Flortist and I want to join the cause. I started sensing that everything was a mirage, and... and hearing Chirp speak, gave me the sunglasses I needed to see the world for its hidden truths. I am willing to do whatever it takes to reveal them.” as she spoke became more became more adamant in her convictions. When she finished her spiel, Chirp felt that there was no way she could be lying. 

His parents exchanged an excited look and nodded to each other in silent communication. The rest of the revolutionaries trickled in to see what had caused such a commotion. Building off the impassioned speech given by Sandhra his father spoke,   
“Oh, how joyous! The prophesized triad completed at last. Ralphiel come stand here with them… Yes perfect, truly the stars of the prophecy have triangulated. We must all celebrate this monumental occasion.” As the trio stood together, the rest of the revolutionaries encircled them and started chanting in celebration.

Though Chirp and Ralphiel were used to celebratory chanting, they could feel that this situation was special. The three of them preened as the chants increased in volume and the four elders began an odd shuffle behind them. A few minutes into the shuffle Sandhra leaned over to ask him when it would end. Eventually, he gestured for her to follow him to the recreation area and Ralphiel followed.


	6. All the Greatest Parties use Synergy

They closed the door behind them to block out the sound and sat around a table. Wringing his hands together Chirp could barely contain his excitement and he exclaimed,

“Introduction time! If we’re going to fulfill the prophecy of the Triad together, we need to do ice breakers.” Sandhra’s face fell and Ralphiel looked completely unsurprised by his declarations. Disappointed in his friend’s apathy Chirp tried to use his marketing skills to convince them to play along,

“Come on guys, now that the prophecy is set in motion, we’ll only have a year to train before we set out on our divine mission. And between Sandhra’s reeducation and your magic training we probably won’t have time to hang out as much as we’d like too.” Taking his duty as a hero just as seriously as Chirp, Ralphiel immediately sobered to the idea of getting to know his fated company. Which meant that despite her reluctance, Sandhra had no choice to participate as well, desperate as she was to fit in to the prophecy.

Leading the fun, Chirp enthusiastically led the trio through various team building activities. Eventually all three were completely enjoying themselves, and despite their initial apprehension delighted in the growth of their bonds. Such was the power of synergy, that by the end of the night they were taken with each other as if they were lifelong friends.

That was for the best because the next morning, as Chirp had predicted the Elders had created their training regiments. The only consistent time they would spend with each other was during the weekly soul binding meditation hour.

Since each of them had a special piece of the prophecy to fulfill they each had unique training. For Sandhra, her new found destiny had awoken a fire within her. She was not only to be reeducated to the ideals of the Liberation Front but learn the sword as well. Which Chirp was perfectly fine with, because despite his parents best efforts he was only really good at speeches and archery. As for Ralphiel, he had no choice but to focus on his spellcasting; for the prophecy.

Overhearing revelry for the Heritage Festival happening outside, they got to work.


	7. Time Skip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it’s gonna be a time skip for the year of training, because honestly that would be dry. It’d def be a montage if this was an anime or something.

Here’s a rundown of their progress/accomplishments during the time skip.  
Chirp: He majored in archery and minored in communications. Kind of a disappointment as far as his parents are concerned but charisma is a good skill to have; especially since the Empress is fairly well liked. 

Ralphiel: When they were younger the elders both tried to teach him and Chirp magic but only Ralphiel took to it. The process that led to his magical ability led his mother to divorce his father and try to gain sole custody but unfortunately, she disappeared before the court date. Through his feelings of abandonment, a devout supporter of the cause was born. As a result, he was willing to major in magic for the prophecies sake. His concentration is in earth element. He’s not soft though, he minored in hand to hand combat. The pride of the Liberation Front. 

Sandhra: She got jacked over the time skip and has learned as much as she could from her teachers. Inter-personally, she has gained self-confidence. She took to her reeducation like a moth to a flame and dropped out of real college. Her parents have reported her as missing but it’s not like Sandhra knows what goes on in the outside world. As a result, she majored in swordsmanship and minored in talking points. The joy of the Liberation Front


	8. Almost Time to Go

Finally, the prophesied day of exit was upon them. During the year of training they had grown stronger as both warriors and companions. With the skills they had acquired they would be sure to defeat the Empress in their legendary battle. The heroes were raring to go with their new found strength, and stepped out of the Liberation Headquarters headed straight for the Empresses doorstep. 

“But first” interrupted Elder Squawk, “you kids need to travel to the Oral Cave to find the lost weapons of the Last True Emperor’s Elite Warriors.” 

She waved a map of Svaila and pointed to their majestic steed, a donkey. Before they could question it, she simply shrugged and said “prophecy.” So begrudgingly, they tempered their spirits and packed their supplies onto their new donkey. Afterwards, the revolutionaries gathered around for the departure ceremony. 

Everyone gathered around as Jester pierced each of the heroes’ ears for twelve dollars and a rabbit’s foot. Sandhra managed to tough it out, while Ralphiel and Chirp winced a bit from their piercings. As soon as their piercings were completed, Gorm Ralph pulled out three little boxes. One for each of them, and they each contained one yellow and one blue earring; signifying the official colors of the Liberation Front. 

Solemnly they put on their earrings, and promptly the Elders sang them one last song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Emperor's name was Lapin Jack Sangsue, he got usurped by the current Empress 1000 some years ago. Hence the referral as the Last True Emperor. She's ruled so long because she's got hands along with "immortality" and besides that one major attempt on her life (the Desperate Charge) no ones really stepped to her since.


	9. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow, just ask Romeo and Juliet

The ceremony completed it was finally time for the heroes to depart. The revolutionaries all said their farewells in their own way, and by the end of it most had shed a couple tears. As they left Chirp was overwhelmed by his emotions and started crying softly. His parents watched him fondly as Ralphiel tried to comfort him while they left. They had almost made it to the gate when Ralphiel too was overwhelmed and began crying along with Chirp. As both the only one who had ever left the city and not currently overcome with emotion, Sandhra was left navigating.

Reading the map for the first time, she realized that they’d taken a wrong turn right out of the gate. Luckily, she was able to quickly direct the party to the correct direction. Since every other Eskelian was currently preoccupied with the Heritage Festival, their odd little procession went unnoticed. Though he had been confused by the whole event, idly Jester wondered if he should of let them have his rabbit foot. 

Studying their foremost destination as they walked, Sandhra realized that they would need to travel to the neighbor nation of Sympharli. She explained that this meant that they would need to pass through customs in order to complete their quest. As they followed the road towards the border, they figured they ought to name their new companion. 

Chirp of course wanted to name it something befitting a preordained steed, while Ralphiel wanted to name it for the Hero of Tafe Toto. Sandhra said she didn’t care either way, so they asked her to be the tie breaker. She mused for a couple seconds and then suggested combining the two somehow. A double first name she figured would be able to incorporate both ideas. 

Since they were basically traveling on foot, Sandhra estimated it would be around five days until they reached the border. They decided that deciding the perfect name for their donkey could help pass the time. In the mean time they would just refer to it as donkey for simplicities sake.

Following the highway to Sympharli was fairly easy to do. This being their first time out of the Capital, Chirp and Ralphiel were amazed at the sprawling meadows surrounding the city. Surprised at their lack of education on the Eskelian lifestyle, Sandhra offered up what information she could during a rest stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The hero of the Battle of Tafe Toto was named Iwa Jeremy Amagi. That'll matter later, because all the best writers do their world building/foreshadowing in the end chapter notes (they don't).


	10. Sandhra's Lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically Sandhra's take on Eskelian life.  
> Very skip-able but does give some good information I guess.

For the most part we’re like nomads. Instead of like towns and villages we make camps. We still have teachers and doctors; they just travel with us.

Every camp will have different traditions. We’re all mainly hunter gathers, but whichever a camp places importance on is how they base their lives. For example, my camp moved with the river fish so we used fish and mud for literally everything.

When we come of age, if we so choose, we go to the State College to learn a specialized job to bring back to the Camp.

The Capital basically serves as a homing beacon for every situation. It’s set up so that those who no longer desire or cannot sustain the nomadic life have a place to live without leaving Eskel, and where we can store things of cultural significance. We can also seek advanced medical care there, and if a camp falls into a time of strife the Capital will take care of them.

The Capital is also the center of trade, so the roads lead to the other nations for traders to pass through safely. It's also where we hold the Heritage Festival every year, that is when it's most like a homing beacon because every camp attends.

We always tell children that if they get separated from the camp, they can find their way to safety by following the roads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully that was coherent enough...  
> I wonder where the Eskelians get all that funding.


	11. Wherein lies their doubt

After their brief break and educational experience, the heroes got back on the road. Chirp briefly lamented the lifestyle he had missed out on for the sake of their cause, but inwardly his convictions grew. Surely the elder’s willingness to make such tremendous sacrifices meant that their cause was just. 

In contrast, Ralphiel asked Sandhra if his mother could of returned to her camp. He then gave a very specific description of his mother as he’d last seen her. Sandhra tried to placate him, but she explained that there were hundreds of camps all over Eskel. Chirp knew that if he did nothing to distract them, then their thoughts would become too pessimistic.

However, he knew there were no words to fix his friends grief. The thought of the sacrifices they had already made and those that were to come began to overwhelm them and even Donkey began to yearn for fields of barely and low hanging fruit trees. The party carried on for miles in their melancholic silence.

Finally, Chirp had had enough wallowing. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He tried to find strength within himself to inspire his friends but nothing empowering would come to him. His inner turmoil lent him to wondering if trying to find something, anything, to say was what his parents meant when they spoke of the Empress’ hollow words designed to placate the populace. 

Immediately, he felt ashamed at behavior that might be considered emulating the Empress’. So instead of trying to fix everything with his words, he decided to instead speak upon the truths of his world as he knew it. 

“I know that it seems like we’re giving up everything that matters to us for our mission, but for that very reason we must do what must be done. The Elders wouldn’t have given up everything that matters if we the Empress didn’t truly need to be defeated. We probably won’t be able to get back what we’ve lost, but regardless of what we lose, we will never lose each other.” While long winded his words managed to reignite the fire in his group. Though Ralphiel was silent he nodded in agreement and Sandhra responded with a hearty “Hear hear”. 

While their doubts had momentarily consumed them; they had managed to overcome them. Now they carried on towards the border. Their confidence in their mission firmly reestablished. Finally, nearly a week after they had started their mission, they saw the tree line that indicated the border to Sympharli.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this isn't too cliffhangery.


	12. At the Customs Office

As they got nearer to the border Sandhra remarked that they would likely need a cover story. The group decided to leave that responsibility to Chirp. He decided that they were just regular tourists wanting to see the world before committing themselves to their camp. Since a simpler story would be easier to remember and tell. When they finally arrived, the customs agents greeted them.

“Hellos travelers, and welcome to Sympharli. We see you’re traveling with a donkey, if you hand him over to my associate, she’ll have him screened in a jiffy. It’s just to control the spread of parasites and other such zoonotic diseases. It’ll take maybe half an hour.” he said cheerfully as a lady in scrubs gently led donkey with her into another room. Then the man continued talking, 

“alrighty then, now that your donkeys getting sorted you all can follow him for your med screening. Just answer everything honestly and you’ll be done in no time.” A man in scrubs gestured for them to follow him. 

“hello hello visitors, can you just complete these surveys. This won’t be nearly as invasive as your sweet donkey friend’s exam haha. This is just to make sure you haven’t contracted or been near any high-risk areas for those pesky uber contagious diseases hehe.” Spoke the evidently well-spirited man. The surveys were easy and considering that the party hadn’t actually left the city they all easily passed. When they were done the doctor read them over and smiled. 

“Well that’s that, it looks like you guys are good to go. Have fun, and if you go down to the beach make sure you try some of our signature dishes!” he said excitedly. They promised they would and thanked him for his time. Finally, they returned to the waiting room. The first agent smiled and greeted them when they finally returned to the waiting room.

“You guys are good to go? That’s great. Now just one last thing. It’s standard procedure, we just need to scan your faces through the joint databases to make sure you guys aren’t like wanted criminals or anything.” He said casually. 

“huh, oh yeah just do whatever you need to do.” Chirp said. 

“Great just line-up, so each of you guys can get a separate picture. Yep perfect.” He said when they had each been processed. The group wasn’t worried because they had not yet committed any crimes. The agent hummed as their pictures filtered through the database. He abruptly stopped humming though, and called them over. His face wrinkled in confusion, 

“Um sooo small hiccup here, it looks like two of y’all are in the missing persons registry, so you won’t be ‘just passing through’ after all. Sorry. Instead we’ll be connecting you guys with the proper authorities. In Ms. Flortist’s case it looks like you’ll just be reunited with your family a.s.a.p., but you Mr. Tancos will be placed in protective custody effective immediately.” He finished pointing at Ralphiel. Bewildered, the group looked at each other in confusion.

“There must be some sort of mistake-” Chirp tried to argue. 

“Well, let me see if there’s some sort of missing persons convention coming up… oh wait that’s not a thing.” Interrupted the agent, his friendly demeanor failing him for once.

“I don’t know who this Tankos is but you have to let us through. The prophecy must be completed at all costs!” shouted Ralphiel. The agent side eyed him and muttered under his breathe, “great we get the creepy cult kids right before my lunch break.” Before they could rebut their dismissal, he spoke up again,

“Well, whatever your complaints maybe, I need to follow policy. So, it’s above me know. Since y’all are so certain this is all some big misunderstanding, I’m sure the Empire Police will feel the same way.” He gave them a curt smile as he picked up a device and began inputting into it. Suddenly Sandhra decided she was fed up with trying to reason with him, and pulled out her training sword. She stared the confused Agent in the eye and threatened him. 

“You will let us through. We don’t want to hurt you, but we won’t let you stop us either.” The agent looked dumbfounded as he held the device. The doctor from earlier walked back in, oblivious to the drama unfolding, 

“Hey Daryll, you seen this video yet man its hilari… um what’s goin on in here?” he finished awkwardly double-taking at the scene in front of him. Everyone turned to look at him. In the midst of all the confusion Ralphiel was imploding inwardly his emotions overwhelmed by the situation. His magical ability began reacting to his state of mind; Chirp noticed and knew they could use it to the groups advantage. Thinking quickly, he whispered into Ralphiel’s ear.

“Don’t hurt them, but like box them in so they can’t stop us.” He said. Ralphiel nodded and raised his hands to the ceiling, drawing up earth around the customs employees. They both complained loudly about the situation. Sandhra overhard their complaints and realized the devices had still been in their hands when they’d been boxed in, 

“we need to leave now.” She alerted the group. Though confused at her sudden insistence, Ralphiel acquiesced and followed her towards the exit. Chirp however hesitated and reminded them of Donkey who was still in the process of being screened. 

“There’s no time, the Empire police could get here at any minute.” She exclaimed as she grabbed his hand dragging him towards the exit. Left with no choice but to make an escape; the party reflected on the abandonment of Donkey as they ran. Ralphiel was crying something about his mother and Chirp wept at the thought of leaving behind their treasured companion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I could figure out how to post pictures I'd put up a map of Svaila.


	13. A Strange Meeting

Once again this left Sandhra to do the navigating, though the woodlands were an unfamiliar environment she expressed her confidence in her abilities. They found a well-covered bush to hide and regroup in. Though out of breath, they efficiently divvied up the work. Sandhra would figure out the best way to the Oral Cave while Ralpiel took stock of what little inventory they had left. 

Chirp was tasked with being the lookout. He diligently scanned the area for any tails. He didn’t sense anyone in the area, but decided use a tree as a higher vantage point just to be safe. He gave his friends an update and they gave him their support.

Idly, he realized that this was his first time climbing a tree. Having trained as an archer Chirp knew the benefits of using terrain to his advantage, but it was a different finally putting it into practice. He climbed high enough to have a good view, but still remain hidden. He remained vigilant as he looked for threats. The bow in his hands felt heavier than ever, he wondered if he would really be able to kill if it came to it.

When he finally looked directly in front of himself, he was shocked to see an oddly accessorized woman sitting in front of him.

“Um who are you” he asked nervously. She tilted her head and seemed to ponder his question for a moment until she finally answered.

“I am a lot of things child.” She said fanning her face, for what Chirp could only assume was a mysterious effect. Chirp was a little offended at being referred to as a child, especially because on the surface she did not look much older than him. Though upon further observation, Chirp realized that her locs were longer than a youthful age would permit.

She laughed a bit at his perplexion and reached into her fanny pack. Curiosity getting the better of him Chirp peaked and saw it was filled with dandelions, which only fueling his bewilderment. She plucked two out of the bag and offered one to Chirp. Cautiously he accepted her gift. She smiled at him.

“You don’t ask a lot of questions, do you? Well I’ll give you a snack and some advice. So, eat this with me and I’ll expose you to one truth of this world.” Perhaps a little overeager, Chirp agreed and they ate their dandelions together. Chirp wrinkled his nose a bit at the bitterness, but still finished it. The woman fanned her face again before speaking,

“Alright time for some philosophical heat fresh off the press… the future becomes the present soon enough, so cherish the present for it’ll become the past soon enough. Yeah, let that marinate for a minute haha. I hope you and your friends find what you’re looking for kid.” She said proudly. Then she pointed behind him and said, 

“Oh my, what’s that behind you?” Worried that someone had got the drop on him and his friends Chirp turned to look but saw nothing. When he turned back, the woman was gone just as silently as she came. Once again perplexed, Chirp thought about what had just happened. He did not get much time to ponder it as his party signaled for him to come back down.

Chirp considered jumping down, but realized that a broken ankle would not be conducive towards the mission and just climbed down. When he finally returned to the hiding spot Sandhra and Ralphiel presented their findings. Sandhra went first,

“Ok so by my calculations the Oral Cave is South East of the check point. It’s surrounded by wilderness, so the Empire Police likely won’t be looking for us in that area. After we get the legendary weapons we can head north east towards the Empress’ Castle.” Chirp and Ralphiel accepted her plan without debate. Then Ralphiel gave his piece.

“All we have left is what was in our packs. The food should last us a couple days, but afterwards we’ll have to rely on what we can scavenge or Chirp can possibly hunt.” Despite this setback, the heroes refused to be cowed by their uncertain meal plan and rallied themselves. They decided to head towards the cave immediately. If they rationed carefully, they would be able to acquire their weapons without running out of food. From that point Chirp would be able to hunt them food and practice with moving targets. 

The group moved at a brisk pace and kept going until the moon was far up in the sky. When they finally stopped for the night Ralphiel used his power to build them a shelter. Tired from the days efforts, they ate their rations quietly and went to sleep. 

Chirp lay there silently and thought about the strange woman’s words and his friends. He realized that the prophecy had been his sole focus in life and even if he wanted to make small talk as they journeyed forth, he would come up with nothing new. Turning onto his side Chirp aspired to come up with interesting conversation topics for the next day in order to make the day more exciting. However, before he came up with anything concrete, he fell fast asleep.


	14. Chirp's First Dream

In his dream he seemed to have been brought to the past. There was a cheval mirror in front of him revealing a version of him from his long-forgotten youth. Suddenly, he heard a hushed argument outside of the unfamiliar room. 

“It’s not my fault, she she said she would talk. That… that the power gems were the last straw. I did it for the mission, I had no choice” said the speaker firmly. Curious to their identity, Chirp looked up and realized to his shock that it was Gorm Ralph speaking to Elder Ceruleo. His ragged voice and disturbed eyes made him nearly unrecognizable to Chip. The Elder grabbed Gorm Ralph by the shirt and pulled him in close hissing,

“You’ve ruined everything. We’ll need to move our entire operation if we wish to remain concealed. Foolish boy, at least tell me what you did with he-“ suddenly, someone picked Chirp up from behind. He almost yelled, but calmed when he saw it was just his mother. She whispered to him, 

“What are you doing out of bed? Come on son, good heroes obey their bedtime.” She chided gently. As she turned to take him back to his bed, she lingered quietly a conflicted despair marring her eyes. As she hugged him to her chest, he felt warm tears falling onto his back. His mother whispered to herself as she walked.

“If this be the fate of the legend’s mother, I rebuke it. Alas, I find myself too weak to fight it.” She whispered. Before Chirp could say anything to comfort her the world went back and he awakened.


	15. To the Cave

Blearily Chirp awakened, pensive over his vivid dream. It had felt like a memory, but he felt he would have remembered such implicating events. For a moment he wanted to tell Ralphiel about his dream, but held his tongue. He knew how much his abandonment weighed on his friend. 

Chirp was oddly silent as they prepared to depart in the morning. The odd events coupled with his dream had left doubts heavy in his spirit. As they continued their trek to the Oral Cave Chirp remained lost in thought. His unusual silence drew the concern of his friends and they pried gently to make sure he was alright.

He tried to snap back in order to dissuade their concerns. As they walked, he made idle chatter in order to convince them that he was fine. Though substanceless, the conversation helped them to pass the time. Sandhra gave observations on the differences between the wildlife in the different nations and Ralphiel responded with his wholehearted delight. Chirp tried to be as enthused as usual, but if they lingered to long, he would be stricken by silence once again. Eventually they reached a small clearing. At the end of it stood the Oral Cave glistening ominously. At the entrance stalacites dripped water onto stalagmites, the jagged formation that made up the cave’s namesake.


	16. Journey To the Bottom of the Pit

The party approached cautiously and began planning their descent into the cave. Chrip grabbed some branches to use as torches and Ralphiel prepared some vines to use as a guide back to the entrance. Sandhra tied the vines together and looped them gently around a stalagmite before attaching it to herself. Chrip lit one of the torches and finally the party entered the cave. As they walked past the rows of stalagmites they were led to a large dark hole. 

Chirp took a spare torch stick and dropped it down the whole. It fell for a long while before finally hitting the bottom with a thud. It was definitely too long of a drop for them to jump. Ralphiel endorsed using his power to get down safely, but Sandhra worried that the structural integrity of the cave might be damaged by his influence; effectively shutting the maw with them inside of it. The thought alone was enough to force them to pick another plan of action. Chirp was finally struck by inspiration when he saw the vine tethering Sandhra to the entrance.

“Oh, I know! Why don’t we use the vine to climb down?” he suggested. “Since it’s pretty much a straight shot to this hole.” The party mulled it over, but eventually agreed. Sandhra volunteered to go retrieve the vine, so Ralphiel and Chirp were left to wait for her by the hole. During this period of inactivity, the restless thoughts that had been plaguing Chirp returned, but once again he held his tongue. Luckily for Chirp, Ralphiel began to speak with him.

“Oh man, I can’t believe we’re actually here. Once we have our legendary weapons we can finally slay the Empress and the prophecy will be complete.” He said excitedly. 

“Oh my gosh, you’re right. The purpose of our lives will soon be completed. I can’t wait, it’s so strange to say it out loud you know?” Chirp said back with just as much energy. Ralphiel responded to the affirmative, but before they could continue their conversation Sandhra returned with the vine. 

“Here it is, hopefully it’s strong enough for all three of us to climb down on at once. Considering how thick it is though this should work.” She said. They secured the vine to a stalagmite and began their descent. Sandhra went first, then Ralphiel, and finally Chirp. They had extinguished the torch in order to prevent it from igniting anything important so they had to climb back down in darkness. 

They climbed silently in order to concentrate and the only thing they heard was the sound of the water dripping down onto the stalagmites. Once again, Chirps mind took advantage of the silence and now even more thoughts troubled him. In his distress he grew spiteful towards the odd woman’s words and decided he would question a bit about his life as it had been dictated to him.

‘What are we supposed to do once the prophecy is complete? All my life my sole purpose in life has been to slay a monster, so I guess I’ll be free to do everything once that happens. What should my first action as a regular fateless person be? I think I’ll try Sympharli’s signature dishes.’ His anticipation for a blissful future grew as he climbed down. 

But as his arms kept getting heavier, so did his thoughts. His dream still lingered heavily within his mind and eventually he began reanalyzing it. He wondered what it could have meant. He and Ralphiel could never remember anything from their childhood no matter how hard they tried. But he was certain that they had never lived in a camp. Maybe his mind was twisting the new information into nightmares. ‘Yeah that’s probably what happened’ he convinced himself.  
Their climb down was starting to exhaust Chirp both physically and mentally when Sandhra gave a shout to alert them.

“Alright the vine cuts off soon. I’m gonna let go and see how far the drop is, if I’m yelling in pain then obviously, don’t jump down after me, got it!” she shouted. And before her friends could protest, they heard her let go of the vine. A few seconds later they heard a thud and a grunt. Not long after she shouted up.

“I’m okay. It’s not that far down, just make sure you distribute your weight properly. I tried to count how many seconds you would have to get ready but that didn’t work out.” She shouted apologetically.

“Do not worry, the earth speaks to me.” Ralphiel shouted back. Before dropping down in a way that sounded graceful to Chirp. As he climbed down the vine carefully in order to minimize the fall length, he heard Sandhra groaning in hindsight. Chirp tried to climb down carefully feeling for the end of the vine. When suddenly, he slipped and, in his fear, let go of the vine. He closed his eyes and tried to brace for impact, but it never came. Ralphiel had caught him before he fell. Chirp gasped out his appreciation as he held onto his friend. He was set down gently and the trio took a moment to catch their breath.


	17. The Monumental Chamber

As soon as they had recuperated, Chirp took one of the torches and lit it. They hissed a bit as their eyes adjusted, but then took in the area around them in awe. There was an ornate passageway directly in front of them. At the top there was a message carved into the rock. Sandhra read it aloud,

“A monument to our stolen youth… What do you think that means?” she questioned. None of them could come up with anything. They figured it could not be anything important and instead steeled themselves for the task at hand. 

Taking a deep breath, Sandhra led the way into the room. Within it where three pedestals each holding an item. On the leftmost pedestal was a steel sword paired with an ornately carved scabbard. In the center were emerald gauntlets positioned as if they were reaching out towards the other pedestals. On the third pedestal was a bow carved from high quality wood and a skillfully woven quiver. The party walked forward in synchrony, each standing in front of their pedestal in reverence. 

Cautiously Chirp reached for his bow and quiver. As he inspected them gently, he could feel the residual power flowing through them. Next to him, Ralphiel carefully adjusted his gauntlets admiring the craftsmanship. Sandhra had already fastened the sheath to her hip and was currently studying her new blade. Their palpable excitement muted only by the flickering light from their torch. Despite their eagerness to truly see their legendary weapons glimmering in all their brilliance, they were hesitant to climb back up the hole.


	18. The Climb Back Up

So, they lingered in the chamber until their torch started to burn out. Sandhra led the way back to the pit bottom and they tried to brainstorm a way back up to the top. Chirp lit another torch and illuminated the pit so they could see the vine. It was too far up to reach and Sandhra looked to Ralphiel in expectation.

“The Earth wouldn’t happen to be speaking to you now would it?” she questioned.

“As a matter of fact it is.” He responded confidently. 

“Ran at me, and I can propel you with enough force to reach the vine.” Squatting down Ralphiel positioned himself into a position to toss her ergonomically. She gave him a confused look, but shrugged and made sure her weapon was secure before complying. Effortlessly he tossed her up and Sandhra managed to grasp the vine with ease. 

“See what I mean, now get ready to catch Chirp.” he shouted up at her. Chirp had been a little nervous about his agility, so that helped dampen his fears. But he caught of Ralphiel’s predatory glint, and instinctively backed up nervously. Before he could protest Ralphiel picked him up.

“Hey, wait a minnnnute!!” he shouted as Ralphiel started spinning like a shot-putter. After a dizzying amount of spins Ralphiel threw him up into the air. Thanks to her heads up, Sandhra was able to catch him with one arm and held him up so he could grab the vine. He whined quietly as he climbed up the vine. Below him he heard Ralphiel somehow manage to reach the vine. This time leading the way up, Chirp climbed upwards. The light from the torch fading the further he climbed. 

The further they climbed the darker it grew and Chirp had to remain completely focused on his task in order to avoid slipping and falling. Had he been at the bottom he would have been afforded the ability to take a rest every now and then. However, leading the party for once he had no choice but to carry on regardless of the shakiness of his arms. 

Any journey upwards is always harder than the descent. With every meter of progress, the chance of slipping grew. Chirp knew that at this stage, a fall would lend all three of them a painful death. Even when his palms started turning raw and bloody from the vine, he had no choice but to carry on. Eventually they were completely shrouded in darkness and at that point the climb felt endless. Chirp wondered if perhaps the pit was actually endless. The long silent void began to haunt him. Despite the apitched darkness surrounding him, his eyes began tormenting him with flickering specters of light.

Every reach up was unsteady as the material world spun around him with every reach forward. Blinking to try and focus his eyes Chirp slipped a bit, the burn in his palms returning some of his cognizance. Internally he chastised himself for his distraction. He did not want to be a burden, so he blinked back any tears and kept climbing. The silent monotony of the climb was finally broken by the water dripping onto the stalagmites.

Relief washed over Chirp as he realized that that meant they were nearing the top of the pit. His hope renewed he kept climbing despite the pain. Eventually, visibility slowly began returning to them. The light from outside the cave shined into Chirp’s eyes when he finally lifted himself out of the pit. He sighed in relief and turned to help his friends out of the pit. 

The dawn of the new day brightly greeting them. Though exhausted from their long ordeal they celebrated their grand accomplishment. Their first trial completed they decided to take advantage of the cave’s shelter and sleep in order to regain their strength.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Even though college is online now the workload is getting heavier as the professors adjust.


	19. The Past Hits When You Least Expect It

Once again Chirp had a vivid dream. He looked around take in his surroundings, and realized he was much taller than normal. On the table behind him lay his newly acquired bow and quiver. The person he was inhabiting reached for them, and Chirp finally saw the bandages covering his arms. Since it was dream Chirp had not felt the intense pain that this person must have been in.

As the person fastened the quiver to themselves, a woman entered the room. On her arms were the green gauntlets currently in Ralphiel’s possession and on her back hung an elaborate spear. She was grim faced and covered in a sticky red substance, but the weight in her eyes lessened once she saw them. 

As she approached, Chirp belatedly realized that the women was in fact covered in blood.The person in the memory was however completely unfazed by this and went to embrace her. The bloody woman spoke, her voice semi-deep and vaguely familiar. 

“What is one Emperor to a mountain of innocents? Hmm, nothing I’d say in retrospect... Song Mai-Mai. It’s up to us now, to create a world worthy of the Hero Warble’s ideals. One where Iwa Jeremy could have been the merchant of Galu and Bhiza could have had all the carrots she’d ever wanted. And… and…” she trailed off as her voice got heavier. She went silent and just held tighter.

Then, the world faded to black. He awoke to Sandhra roughly shaking him awake. Chirp blinked rapidly adjusting as Ralphiel smiled gently at him and handed him his breakfast. He inferred that his friends had been up for some time and the rising sun spurred his energy. Chirp ate quickly to try and make up for oversleeping. As he ate, Sandhra explained their next course of action.

“Alright so I’ve mapped out the way to the castle. We’ll need to head northeast. Since we need to maintain our cover, we’re gonna have to find our way through the wilderness. Luckily the Oral Cave is actually really close to the center of Svaila, so it won’t be as long a journey as it was to get here. Once we get moving, we can probably arrive in a day or so.” The guys listened intently absorbing the information she gave them. 

Once she finished Ralphiel reached to inspect Chirp’s hands. Gently he applied ointment to the rope burns to Chirp’s palms. Ralphiel kept Chirp’s hands within his afterwards. They sat together in silence for a moment before Sandhra interrupted. 

“Anything you wanted to say Ralphiel?” she said impatiently. Ralphiel jumped back into focus and let go of Chirp’s hands. 

“Uh… oh yeah. We have one meal left, so we’ll have to time it well in order to avoid reaching the Empress hungry and maintain our energy” he trailed off distractedly. They sat in a pensive silence before instinctively moving to gather their supplies in order .

Carefully, Chirp unwrapped his arrows and placed twenty into his quiver. He did not plan on wasting any of them on the way, but he wanted to be prepared just in case. When he was finally ready to depart, he waited for Sandhra to declare the start of the end. Once each of them was prepared, the will of Svaila’s heroes of old flowed through them all. Sandhra drew her sword and pointed towards the exit of the cave. 

“Onwards my friends, destiny awaits! We shall secure the fate of Svaila by our own hands.” She shouted. Rallied by her cries Chirp and Ralphiel pumped their fists into the air and cheered with her. The faith in their hearts did not waver even as the Oral Cave became a dot in the back of their eyes.


	20. Near the Climax

They walked on through the jungle, Sandhra directed them compass in hand. Chirp wished they could take a moment to reflect, but knew the sense of urgency for completing their mission would not allow any setbacks. He fiddled with an arrow and trailed behind his friends. 

He hoped they would think he was just falling into his role as an archer and leave him be. Inadvertently, his wish was granted as Ralphiel and Sandhra were engrossed in a conversation about how exactly they would kill the empress. The two walked in tandem, their conversation influenced by Sandhra’s newfound bloodlust and the will of the dirt. This left Chirp free to trail behind them, he personally was much less enthused by the prospect of regicide. It was however, his life’s purpose so he had no choice but to reconcile his doubts with his sworn duty. 

For all their posturing they had never actually killed anyone, so the longer his friends spoke the warier of them he grew. Eventually he just tuned out their conversation. Chirp felt conflicted. On one hand he was ashamed over his hesitation, but on the other hand he couldn’t help but wonder if there was another way. 

Because now that the mysterious women had ignited his curiosity through his indignance, he really did have a lot of questions. ‘But if I’m too scared to say anything then I guess I’m not technically asking, am I?’ Chirp thought bitterly. The thickness of the jungle had decreased the nearer they got to their goal. Idly, Chirp realized the birdsong had quieted too. Sandhra and Ralphiel were too engrossed in their conversation to notice, but the further they walked the more uncomfortable Chirp got. He shivered a bit at the thought that even nature rejected the empress. 

His sense of unease only grew and he was unable to relax at all. They walked all day and by sunset they finally reached the edge of the jungle. In the lingering daylight they could see the castle standing ominous in the distance. Sandhra declared they would make camp at the edge for the night and charge the castle in the morning. Chirp shivered unconsciously at the prospect, and for the first time that day Ralphiel paid him some attention. 

“Are you cold? I’ll start a fire-“he began to offer before Sandhra interrupted him.

“Are you crazy! That would alert the empress to our location.” She paused for a second as if considering her words then continued talking.

“If Chirp can’t even handle a little bit of cold, then how will he be of use in the upcoming battle.” She finished reproachfully. Frustrated Sandhra walked away to cool off. Ralphiel looked at him apologetically before following her; Chirp could only assume to help her calm down. He heard a sniffle and realized his eyes were beginning water. He sat behind a fallen tree and tried to stop himself from crying. Sandhra’s words had cut him deep, but he knew she was right, he was weak. 

He wasn’t filled with self-determination or earthly guidance like Sandhra and Ralphiel. His hands tightened into fists, he was filled with doubts and as a result his heart faltered. At this rate if it were up to him, they’d fail their mission and corrupt the prophecy. In a fit of self-flagellation, he punched the log and recited the affirmations he’d been taught. Chirp wished to be more like Sandhra, who had only been a part of the resistance for a little over a year and was already the most dedicated member. Even his parents preferred her to him he thought wistfully. Eventually his insecure thoughts slowed and he was lulled into a fitful sleep, still alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait.


	21. Nightmares Made Real

His dream was just as tormented as his conscious thoughts. It was as if he were in a clip show, visions flickered through his subconscious. In one he stood in a field of corpses, in another a red river flowing with corpses, each vision more graphic than the last. Finally, at the end of it he desperately tried to wash unfamiliar hands, except the blood on them would not go away. Frustrated he looked up into a mirror, only to see himself bloodstained and weeping. This shocked him and he woke up with a shout. 

Chirp hugged himself as he hyperventilated, still shaken from his nightmare. As soon as he calmed down, he steeled himself for Sandhra’s disappointed judgement, but it never came. For once, Chirp had been the first to wake up. Desperate to feel useful and put his wicked dream behind him he decided to put together the last of their rations, so his friends’ breakfast would be ready when they woke up. 

He worked silently and diligently so his friends could maximize their rest. He gave himself the smallest portion, rationalizing that since they were so much stronger than him, they would need more energy. Chirp ate quickly before waking them; he knew that Ralphiel would object. Gently he woke Ralphiel, when their eyes met his friend smiled at him in familiarity. 

“Good morning Ralphiel, I um prepared breakfast if your hungry.” He murmured. Touched by the gesture, Ralphiel patted his head gently. 

“Aw, thanks buddy.” He said genuinely. Chirp heard a scoff behind him and saw that Sandhra had woken up on her own. She rolled her eyes and reached for her own food. Chirp sat quietly next to Ralphiel as they ate. His friends had changed so much since their journey started he thought pensively. As soon as she finished eating Sandhra took her sword out and polished it. Following suit, Ralphiel decided to meditate in order to speak with the earth before the battle. Left to his own devices Chirp decided to tune his bow. He adjusted the string and went off a little ways and chose five random targets. Usually it would take much more arrows, but thanks to his limited supply he didn’t want to waste too many. Luckily his aim was true each time, but they weren’t shot at a distance to reasonably retrieve them. 

His accuracy reassured him and he returned to his friends. Chirp merely nodded at his friends that he was ready. Once he would have eagerly told them about such excellent results, but at this point he was past it. Ralphiel nodded back at him, and Sandhra sheathed her sword. They stood in silence for a moment, then Sandhra finally declared their charge.

“Let’s strike down the evil empress and bring salvation to Svaila! Let the prophecy be fulfilled today!” she shouted. Ralphiel and Chirp shouted their assent, though Chirp’s heart wasn’t as in it as he’d hoped. Sandhra led the way as they headed towards the castle. Ever observant Chirp looked at the surroundings as they walked. The castle was up on a hill, that itself was dead and barren. It was completely silent and he noticed that the castle looked to be in a state of disrepair. He had expected over indulgence from such a wicked leader, but the castle looked as though it had been left to rot after the events of the tapestry. As they neared the entrance, he saw some flower pots containing withered dandelions. Chirp began to feel nauseous as he marched, but his friends seemed unaffected. At the entrance of the castle there were some rocks placed seemingly as some sort of memorial. 

Chirp felt confused. There was some dissonance in what he saw of the empress and what he’d been told his life. However, he decided that she could be a neglectful ruler who had let the four nations descend into chaos under her hand. He did not have much time to think about it as Sandhra entered fearlessly. He and Ralphiel followed right behind her and Chirp noticed that the castle was empty. Instinctively he drew his bow and followed cautiously unnerved by the silence. 

He wondered if instead of assassinating her in cold blood, they could at least give her time to explain or even find a suitable reason to kill her. That way he wouldn’t have to feel guilty for the rest of his life, he thought optimistically. Eagerly, he told his friends about his idea. Ralphiel seemed agreeable to his suggestion, but Sandhra remained silent. The awkwardness caused by her cold rebuff engulfed them.

They walked silently and finally entered the throne room. Within the chamber there was a familiar figure curled up on the throne. Chirp lowered his bow, but before he could say anything Sandhra drew her sword and charged. Her battle cry woke the woman on the throne, who parried the slice with her bracer effortlessly and kicked Sandhra back. 

“Ey yo, what the fuck?” she yawned and blinked a couple times. Then, seeing Sandhra laid out on the ground she put her hand over her mouth and apologized.  
“Shit my bad… I mean, this Empress apologizes to her precious subject. Though I mean you attacked me in my sleep, so that could have been way worse all things considered.” She said her finger on her chin. She looked over to Chirp and Ralphiel and her eyes lit up in recognition.

“Oh, hey kid, what are you guys doing here? It’s been a couple centuries since I’ve had uninvited guests, so please excuse the mess.” She said casually. Ralphiel looked over at him confused and Chirp stammered a bit before finally replying. 

“We’re here to kill you for the prophecy?” he said weakly and a bit shamefully. Ralphiel awkwardly nodded along with him. She rolled her eyes annoyed. 

“This again and y’all was just gonna do it? Off writ, no questions asked?” she exclaimed gesturing at Sandhra who was still laid on the ground winded. 

“I mean not like that, Sandhra just sort of snapped. I’m sort of been having second thoughts, but I didn’t wanna kill the energy you know.” He defended weakly, Ralphiel vigorously nodded next to him in relief. For a second, the empress glowered at them and small sparks generated on her fist, but then she untensed. 

“Well I can’t even be that mad. I used to just blindly follow orders back in the day too and this ain’t even the first time this has happened. Since nothing but her dignity was hurt, I guess I’m over it.” She said gesturing at Sandhra who was now kneeling and using her sword to support herself. The empress continued talking. 

“Well just take this learning experience and take your stupid asses on… I mean, this Empress pardons you.” She waved her arm in dismissal. Chirp and Ralphiel bowed vigorously in acceptance of her mercy, their apologies flowed like water. Chirp wasn’t really sure what to do now, his parents would never accept such a failure. However, considering how forgiving of a capital slight the empress was being, she certainly wasn’t the malevolent overlord she’d been made out to be either. 

But, he wasn’t given much time to think about his new lease on life as Sandhra finally recovered from the kick and charged the empress again. This time the empress simply caught the blade in her hand.

“Seriously, kid. It’s not every day you get away with attempted regicide.” She said ruefully. Sandhra struggled trying to free the blade from the strong grip, pointedly ignoring her friends calls for her to surrender. A cruel sneer grew on the empress’ face the harder Sandhra struggled.

“Your form is shit. You couldn’t hurt me even if I let you cut me.” She mocked viciously.  
“Where’d you kids even get these toys anyway?” she muttered inquisitively. In a quick move she disarmed Sandhra and put her in a restraint. She held the blade up to inspect it. Her eyes went from mildly annoyed to full of rage in seconds. Chirp saw this and backed up a few steps instinctively and Ralphiel naturally moved to stand in front of him. 

“What are you kids, sacrificial lambs? No way you wimps could grab Iwa Jeremy’s blade on a weekend stroll.” Then she looked back at Chirp and Ralphiel and sized up their equipment.

“Mmm, someone wanted you kids dead.” She said bitterly. Chirp’s blood ran cold. Before they could say object to that, she held up her hand to silence them. 

“Look, this prophecy or whatever they’ve got you kids with is total bull- malarky. Whoever told you try and kill me with me and my old battle buddy’s equipment is not on your side. I’d say take it back to the Oral Cave yourselves but I’m impressed you managed to steal it in the first place. So, instead you two leave the artifacts at the entrance on your way out.” she ground out. Chirp refused to accept the implications of what she was saying but still agreed to her terms. Ralphiel nodded along with him. Sandhra who had been struggling in the empress’ grip looked at them in disgust. Suddenly she was released and shoved forward. She stumbled awkwardly, but was immediately helped by her friends. Sandhra snarled at them and seemed to be possessed as she fought against their efforts to drag them out.

She broke free and tried to charge the empress again forcing Chirp and Ralphiel to jump on her to stop her. They both pleaded with her to stop her madness. Sandhra just kept struggling against them, even disarmed she was unyielding. Her yelling was incomprehensible and as he clung to her desperately Chirp wondered if it was somehow the physical manifestation of her blood lust. The empress looked perplexed.

“What is- this empress asks what’s wrong with her?” she said holding her hand up to her face. Chirp was too breathless from trying to hold back Sandhra to answer, so Ralphiel tried to provide an acceptable answer. 

“Well she’s, ow, she’s not usually like this. We’ll just calm her down and she’ll go back to normal… I hope.” He wheezed out trying to speak over Sandhra. The empress watched them passively for a few seconds before a glimmer of recognition flashed in her eyes. She cursed and jumped at the three of them. She kicked Ralphiel away and threw Chirp onto him in a smooth couple of moves. The empress pinned Sandhra’s arms down with her legs and raised her left arm in the air as if she was expecting something. 

Arrows flew out the quiver scattering onto the ground. Chirp landed awkwardly onto Ralphiel’s lap. He felt his friend move to help support him. After orienting themselves they stood up gingerly. Chirp gasped as he saw the state Sandhra was in; she was glowing a bright orange and shrieking within the empress’ restraint. He felt Ralphiel’s arm around him as they watched their friend in horror. Sparks flashed from the empress’ arm and an ornamented spear flew into her hand. Chirp could only watch in horror as she reared her arm back to strike when suddenly Sandhra jerked onto the ground and fell silent. Immediately the spear froze in response. 

Sandhra lay still on the ground her eyes rolled back into her head. Cautiously the empress stepped off of her and poked her a couple times with the shaft of her spear. There was no response. Wide-eyed she crouched to take Sandhra’s pulse. Chirp and Ralphiel were frozen and could only watch aghast at the shocking turn of events. The empress gave them a strained look and tried to comfort them.

“I mean look at it this way. Had y’all kept it up it would have been all three of you, not just her.” She waved her finger chidingly.

“Especially with what I can only assume are a plethora of preexisting conditions. Honestly it’s not that hard to ask questions, especially when a bunch of strangers tell you to assassinate the empress of all things.” She added pointedly directing her scolding at Chirp. Weakly Chirp muttered,

“It was our parents not strangers…” before trailing off. Now it was the empress’ turn to look horrified. Chirp was ready to ask what was wrong, but his question turned into a hopeful shout as he noticed Sandhra’s hand twitch. The empress looked back down at Sandhra in expectation. However, their hopes were dashed when Sandhra’s limbs started jerking erratically and her fingers tensed into odd positions. Her mouth opened once as if she was going to scream once again, but this time all she managed was a wheeze. The empress took a few steps back and sucked her teeth in annoyance. 

“If she could make up her mind on forsaking her humanity that would be great, thanks.” she said wryly. When large orange veins started spreading from her neck the empress gave a long-suffering sigh. To Chirp’s astonishment a large pair of green wings ripped out of her back, she gave a couple practice flaps as she turned towards Chirp and Ralphiel. She spread them out to an impressive wingspan and bent into a runner’s stance before launching herself at them. Chirp yelped as he and Ralphiel were lifted into the sky. Though she had no problem lifting them her short height meant it was hard for her to hold them both. As she raised into the sky above the ruined castle she grunted and released a huge rat tail.

Chirp honestly found that even more surprising than the wings. She did a flip in the air and tossed up Ralphiel. Chirp then discovered the tail was also prehensile as she wrapped it around Ralphiel. Then the three of them experienced the power of physics when she was unable to adjust to the new weight dispersal. When the empress finally stopped cussing and Chirp jolted in her arms the crisis was thankfully averted. The wing beats were loud and fast as she began to pick up speed once she adjusted to them. 

Chirp started to wonder where they were headed when he felt a wave of heat come from behind. Once again the empress started cursing and Ralphiel who must have ended up facing behind them let out a terrified yell. 

“What’s happening to Sandhra?” Ralphiel yelled.  
“Where did all that fire come from?” Chirp’s eyes widened at the thought of Sandhra having somehow produced that wave of heat, but due to his precarious position he didn’t dare try and look behind him.

“Ugh, I guess becoming a discount version of me without the cognizance. Don’t worry though, this empress will get her beloved subjects to safety before dealing with the threat.” She declared proudly, though there was an odd undertone in her voice. Chirp wanted to ask her to explain, but decided to let her focus on flying instead. He hoped they would have time to talk before anything too serious happened. Yet the shocking subversion of their prophetic fate had propelled events to an unstoppable pace. Chirp couldn’t help but shed a few tears in his dismay. 

Their impromptu flight took them to the edge of the jungle the original trio had came from. The empress landed on a thick branch and laid down Ralphiel. Then, she placed Chirp on top of him and patted their heads gently. 

“Be at peace young ones, this Empress will resolve this all soon. Protect each other, yes.” She muttered fondly before she turned to leave them. 

“Wait” shouted Chirp as he reached out.

“What’s your name? Please before you leave.” He begged of her. The empress looked back at them inquisitively before responding. 

“Intriguing… However, I discarded my name when I discarded my humanity. When I transformed I declared myself Nimyarima: the Usurper Empress. If you must call me anything, then yes, call me Nimyarima.” She hesitated as if there was something left unsaid, but shook her head and flew off instead. As she called her weapon back to her left hand, Chirp and Ralphiel could only watch silently and hope that everything turned out alright.


	22. The Final Battle

As, Nimyarima soared towards the smoldering castle Chrip yearned to help, on whose side he wasn’t sure. Just as he finally felt brave enough to move, another explosion scared him back into Ralphiel. He watched the spire of flames rise and then shoot out like a wave. While Chirp did have delusions of legendary-ness, he certaintly didn’t entertain any thoughts of being flame proof. Neither did Ralphiel it seemed, as he pulled up a small dirt wall to inhibit the fire’s spread. Though their concerns turned out to be unfounded as the flames died out just as quickly as they’d came. 

Chirp looked at the castle ruins anxiously, hoping to spot Sandhra. Hollowly, he realized that no one could have survived such a thing. The empress continued circling in the sky and tears started running down Chirp’s cheeks. He despaired. The arm around his waist tightened, whether in comfort or mutual despair he was unsure. As he sat on the branch weeping, he half-heartedly watched the smoke that rose from the ashes of the castle. To his shock, there was a charred skeleton dragging itself from the ruined castle. The sight scarred Chirp, the poor bones crawled forward piteously. The metacarpi reached out as though the corpse was searching for something. It didn’t seem to care about it’s current state, it was as if it were a mindless vessel. 

Chirp pitied the skeleton. He watched it’s desperate groping, and came to a realization that left him retching. Behind him he heard sniffling, but as always Ralphiel tried to comfort him. Chirp tried to return the same sentiment. When Sandhra’s finally stopped crawling she collapsed onto the ground, as though her fight had finally gone out. For the second or third time that day. When she reanimated once again her arms pushed her up into a kneeling position. Chirp saw a red gem floating within her chest cavity. Her skeletal arms raised themselves towards the sky as if she was reaching for something. 

When suddenly, Nimyarima’s spear flew through her skull. Even with that Sandhra seemed unaffected. When the spear flew back to its owner, her skull tore off. It flew off the spear and landed a few feet in front of the rest of her, but her skeleton seemed apathetic to this development. The gem within her chest started to light up. It flickered at first, but eventually it became a sustained red glow. Eventually it became too bright to look at and Chirp was forced to cover his eyes. A metallic smell filled the air and soon he heard weak gurgling sounds coming from Sandhra’s location. He opened his eyes in shock and hope, but immediately had to shut them again since the light was still bright. 

When the light finally died down Chirp peeked carefully first. Since he wasn’t nearly blinded this time, he decided that the coast was clear. Where Sandhra’s charred bones had been was now a giant towering monster.  
She now had three pairs of blue limbs. The two frontmost pairs were insectoid, while the last pair resembled the legs of a Calgurian Yongka. Her head was basically that of a maneless horse, she bared her blunt front teeth and she threw her head back, with what Chirp could only assume was pride. She had two pairs of identical dark orange eyes The extra pair was attached to a pair of antennae, like a snails. In contrast with her limbs, her body was covered in orange fur. 

Her eyes were zeroed in on Nimyarima and she let out a high-pitched screech.

“Basac” she screeched and hopped into the sky after her target. Chirp watched in awe as Nimyarima blew a massive gust of wind from her mouth to blow Sandhra back to the ground. Once again, the empress had thrown her onto her back. However, this time she didn’t hesitate to strike. She flung her spear towards Sandhra’s chest without even pausing to aim. Simultaneously, she augmented her attack with a powerful bolt of lightning. 

Sandhra managed to roll and avoid the spear, but she was still electrocuted. As she spasmed, Sandhra roared in pain. Chirp watched wide-eyed as Nimyarima dived towards his transformed friend, calling her spear to her hand as she descended. Despite being wracked with pain Sandhra managed to produce a fire ball before her spear could connect. 

Nimyarima was able to dodge the brunt of the attack, but she was still a bit singed. Since she’d been distracted by Sandhra’s attack she was unable to maintain her electrical attack. Sandhra seized her opportunity and reached for the fallen spear as Nimyarima was still recovering. 

Sandhra lifted the ornate spear into her mouth and bit down on it, snapping it in half. This destruction of property predictably sent Nimyarima into a rage. Chirp could only imagine the inventive curses she was spitting at Sandhra as she slammed her tail onto the ground in frustration. She pointed at Sandhra angrily and shouted something. 

Before she emitted a bright green light. Hers wasn’t nearly as long or as powerful as Sandhra’s, but just like with his friend a massive beast was left in her place. 

Immediately, Chirp recognized Nimyarima’s monstrous form from the tapestry. He’d known the empress was a monster, but seeing it in real life was mind-boggling. Chirp shivered at his powerlessness. As he watched Nimyarima cross her clawed arms and throw her head back with a shrill bugle. He watched them in awe-inspired terror. How could his parents have expected the three of them to beat her as they were? 

Chirp wondered if they really had been sent to die, or even worse supposed to transform like Sandhra had. For once he was thankful for being a failure. Though he did regret that he certainly wouldn’t be able contribute in anyway now. Unless he decided martyrdom was a viable solution. Ralphiel’s grip on him tightened. Either in fear or out of a desire to keep him safe. Chirp knew his friend well though and felt it was the later. 

When Nimyarima finally finished her posturing, it was back to business. She charged at Sandhra lightning sparking from her horns. Sandhra hopped into the air to dodge her attack. The fiery glint in Nimyarima’s eyes as she spread her wings and leapt after her reminded Chirp of the experiential disparity between her and Sandhra. 

Chirp noticed that Sandhra could not fully control her hop trajectory, so she tried to compensate with her fire. She shot fireballs out her mouth down at Nimyarmia. Nimyarima merely snarled and flew around them dodging them all. She picked up speed as she ascended, and flew past Sandhra who was descending. With an elegant flip, Nimyarima followed her down. 

She shot down like a falcon and descended even quicker than she’d ascended. As Sandhra dropped back onto the ground before she could even reorient herself, Nimyarima dropped onto her back pinning her with her hind legs. She raised her head with a howl and bent over taking Sandhra’s neck in her mouth. 

Chirp winced at the snap of her breaking Sandhra’s neck. His hands covered his mouth when she threw his friend down onto the ground. Nimyarima turned away and started hacking out Sandhra’s blood, as Sandhra went into her death writhes for the final time. 

Chirp watched the events blankly. He was lost now. He was out half his friends and failed at the only job he’d ever had. A sharp yelp drew him out of his thoughts. Chirp looked up to see that Sandhra had used her final moment to stab through Nimyarima’s chest with her tail that had evidently been disguised a disguised stinger. Nimyarima struggled trying to free herself from the stinger. When she finally freed herself, it forced out both their innards and it fell silently onto the ground between them. Sandhra collapsed for the final time. Her pyrrhic mission complete. 

Meanwhile, the gaping hole in Nimyarima’s chest meant she was bleeding out rather quickly. She struggled to continue crawling away, almost as if she refused to falter. Eventually, she too collapsed. Her hyperventilation becoming wet shallow breathes, as she too expired. 

Chirp and Ralphiel hurriedly climbed down the tree. They ran back to the dying women. Though Chirp knew it would be fruitless, he still hoped there might be a way to save them. Two weak flashes of light illuminated the area when they’d finally arrived. There lay the Empress in her human form with a wound in her chest. She was still. Sandhra on the other hand was merely dust. Chirp kneels buckled under him, tears running down his face. 

Sandhra had been charred bones after all, it would make sense that after such abuse she would have no form to return too. Ralphiel sat next to him and cried as well. Weakly they tried to comfort each other. But some things can’t be healed by placating words.


	23. The End

Eventually they were calm enough to gather themselves. Together the two decided that first they needed to bury them and create a memorial for the two. Were it not for Ralphiel’s command of the dirt, it would have been a tedious task for the exhausted heroes. Respectfully, they laid Nimyarima to rest next to where the monument in front of her castle had been. They laid her down respectfully before Ralphiel encased her body within a granite coffin. Then, he   
raised her a tombstone made of granite. It read:

‘Here lies Nimyarima the Empress of Svaila.   
Slain in Battle during the Year 1001 of her reign.’ 

Finished burying the Empress they went to look at Sandhra’s ashes for a final time. They said their last goodbyes, but before they could do anything else a powerful gust of wind blew her ashes away. Towards what Chirp could only hope was Eskel. 

“Well now what?” asked Ralphiel. Chirp thought about it for a few seconds. Though his future was uncertain he did know one thing for sure.

“I never wanna go back home.” He said flatly. For the moment unable to produce any sort of cheer in his tone. 

“I agree... perhaps we could go and find a new one?” Finally, given the opportunity to make his own future, Chirp agreed. Tentatively their hands reached for each other. Clasped hand in hand they walked on towards their new horizon.


	24. Epilogue

In regards to his impact on Svaila’s history Chirp’s story is over. Despite this his life is not over. Together he and Ralphiel traveled all over the unified continent. The two of them lived off the land and while their past never ceased to torment their minds, they always had each other for comfort. The two of them went everywhere hand in hand. They lived to an elderly age before dying peacefully in their sleep together. They never did return home, and no news of them returned to the resistance either. 

For that reason, their parents assumed they had died en route to the castle. Unmoved by their loss, they merely stayed in the city trying to sway public opinion. Without any heirs left, the Resistance died out after their elderly and dwindling numbers got washed by a preventable disease.

Without their Empress, Svaila continued to prosper for another century. When she failed to show up for her centennial duties and analyses all four nations grew concerned. So, they sent the four kingdom heads to see what was up. Though Ralphiel was long gone at this point, his monument still stood tall. The news of the empress' death spread throughout the nation. Despite not having her to subliminally lead them anymore, Svaila still managed to maintain it’s well-raised order for a few more generations.

Eventually without her underlying influence, the cogs of their societies started to break down. And without someone to automatically fill the coffers or enforce social programs, life began to fall apart at the seams. When their governments abolished all the social programs and tried to gain wealth within their enclosed continent it led to war.

It was chaos. Eventually the people tired of their endless toil and overthrew their governments. With no institutions or anything set up to help people they fell into the age of anarchy. It was terrible. They basically had to restart their civilizations. They kept on truckin’ though. Hopeful that perhaps one day they could return to the peace and prosperity spoken of only in legends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This the end of the first story. I'm surprised how long everything took to write considering how short it is. Chirps story was basically part of a little miniparacosm I want to tell. Nimyarima would be a "main character" if you were to look at it from my mind, but this part of her story would have been boring from her perspective.
> 
> I might write a little mini ova from her perspective though. Eventually I want to tell her whole story, but one-thousand and twentysome years is a long time. 
> 
> I'm not really sure what I wanna write next, but hopefully next time I can be more consistent/quicker without sacrificing anything in the writing. 
> 
> The next story is between the next set of heroes that rise during the age of anarchy or a basic witch/werewolf/vampire story set on another continent on the same planet. 
> 
> I've got drafts for both of them, but I feel like they're gonna be longer than this so I don't want to start posting either just to leave folks in suspense. 
> 
> If you feel any particular way towards it or have any advice please leave a comment.
> 
> Thanks to anyone who read all this. (This long note and the story.)


End file.
